Nurture your winter garden

Larry Smith enjoys helping others with their gardening. Various flowers grow during winter, including pansies.

Winter gardens still need some TLC, even if you’ve got to rug up to go outside. The mental and physical benefits of gardening don’t vanish with the warm sun.

STORY: YOUSSEF SAUDIE. PHOTOGRAPHY: MEGAN FISHER

Step outside to the bracing cold air and grow something new this winter. Whether you’re a green thumb or just starting off, this season could fill your backyard with anything from pansies and violas to fresh cabbage and spinach. “It’s really relaxing when you can zone out to your own thoughts and be creative in the garden, it’s a good pastime,” Riverside Gardens co-owner Larry Smith said. This winter you could treat yourself to some fresh vegetables, including broccoli and cauliflower. “You could get the plants up to a size where they’ll handle the cold ground of winter and keep growing through,” Larry said. But during winter your plants can also go dormant. So how do you get them ready for spring? “Around about July you could start your rose pruning, some of the other trees could be a little bit earlier like your deciduous ornamental trees that can be pruned around May/June,” Larry said. “A lot of it is just cleaning up around the garden as well, plants which have got their flower heads can all be pruned.” Larry said this was helpful for when your plants get frosty during the chilliest time of year. “To tender frosted plants like jacarandas you spray them with a product that can protect the tips of the growth through the winter—or making up covers to cover your plants.” Winter may make you feel more “nurturing” towards the plants as you prepare and care for them when flowers grow. Green thumb Larry has been gardening since he was 16—he’s now 62. He is drawn to creating and building in his garden, and feeling rewarded

Winter is a time to care for and prepare your garden for spring.

when seeing his achievements. But what Larry loves most is encouraging other people to achieve their goals in their own gardens. “Being able to help people and inspire people on what they can achieve, that’s the majority of our jobs in the nursery at the moment.” It can also be both physically and mentally beneficial to get outside in the garden, no matter what the task. “You’re surprised how much people realise the amount of exercise is involved in gardening, it gives you mobility and strengthens your muscles,” Larry said. “It’s quite a relaxing pastime, it gets rid of stress.”